We continue with our preparations for Mara, gathering equipment and supplies suitable for the mission and preparing ourselves.
I have decided to get one of the tatoos; it will work as a ward against warp influence. It will cover my entire body, face and all. In essence it is not at all as momentous as becoming part of the inquisition, however it feels much more real; every time I see myself on pict or in the mirror I am most forcefully reminded that I am no longer first and foremost a detective. Questioning witnesses with my face covered in warp-warding tatooes will certainly be different from what I am used to. I am now an agent of the inquisition, first and foremost, and I can no longer fool myself to think otherwise. On the other hand, I get to participate in the solving of the Haarlock riddle. And there is hardly a bigger game in the sector at the moment.
Other than that I have got a custom crafted power sword, a most powerful implement. In addition I have expanded my arsenal with a combat shotgun with chain sword attachment, two hand flamers of the destroyer type, and a recoil glove. On Mara there is no way, or reason, to pretend that we are anything resembling 'civilians'.
We will get passage on the Sigilites Word, a renowned top of the line frigate, and we will have support from 2 psychers and a small complement of Maccabian Janissaries on Mara. The Janissaries are led by Childres and Makrade. The two psykers are Kessa Silinius the astropath, and old lady without eyes, and Kalium Samiel the battle psyker, a handsome, dark haired man. Kalium is part of our support team because he has experience figthing psychneuein, a very dangerous warp-xeno that is attracted to casting of spells. They are numerous on Mara, or in the warp on Mara, if that is close in any ordinary sense of the word. More importantly, they are melee experts, and lay eggs inside humans. Wonderful.
Finally we board, the Sigillites Word is in very good shape. We get the biggest rooms I have ever seen on a vessel, certainly much better than what we had on the passage to Xicarp. We even have our oun servitor butler, Jeeves. As soon as we board the Word sets off.
On the trip I decide to start penning a diary. It somehow feels right; there is something very final about going to Mara, and we are leading a team as throne agents. All in all, this seems like something that needs to be recorded. On the first day aboard we meet the captain, Captain Exail. He is very young, but seems very on top of his game. He explains that the Word will be in geostationary orbit, above the penal station on Mara, and that we will deorbit on a lander. He serves us a most extraordinary dinner.
The trip in itself is uneventful, except for a few incidents. We talk to the sergeants to prepare them for our kind of operation; we assume that we require a bit more initiative and thinking on your feet than ordinary military operations. We also gather all the Janissaries, and I try to scare them sufficiently for them to stay on their toes for the mission. Time will tell if it worked.
We also have a meeting with the psykers, Kessa dislikes being subject to our leadership. It should not be a problem, however we are dependent on the astropath.
We take stock before entering the Mara system: on a general level we have no inkling about what to expect; we have the pattern, the Grey Psalter, and a key, the Steel Hart, but we have no guide. Going in more or less blind, as usual.
As the Word enters the Mara system we are called to the bridge; it is enormous with the ambience of a temple of war. As soon as we drop out of warp, the ship rings like a gong from hits. Twice. A spacebattle is unfolding, with several sides. The Mara monitors are fighting other human ships, and we see a very strange looking one in the distance. The Word is both firing and being fired upon.
Suddenly we see a strange light outside the Word, and all the servitors fall silent. Then they speak in unison: 'the traveller shall return, and the stars shall die, his servants come, the key turns'. We see a ship made from bone and bright granite, it is Haarlocks vessel, the Spear of Destiny. It fires something that looks like light, but destroys one vessel per shot.
We run to the hangar, and are received by the Jannisaries, who have made a perimeter around our lander. As we leave the last thing we see is Samiel, his eyes rolled into his skull, consumed in flames he screams 'the traveller shall return, and the stars shall die, his servants come, the key turns'. As the lander leaves the Word, she bucks and is blown apart. No point in looking back now. May the Emperor watch over us, so that we may suceed in stopping Haarlock.
On the way down we take a hit. Alpha tries to save the ship, but we go in hard. Two Janissaries are killed, and so our work on Mara proper starts. At least the astropath is alive. Holder-Smith patches up the survivors.We move out, toward the penal station. Dar sneaks ahead, to check on the gate. He discovers that it is guarded, by tripping a trap. We storm it.Potter uses a few spells, and a psychneuein appears. It is though, but we kill it. We take stock, and it turns out we have no casualties.
Around the gate I see tracks from about 15 persons. We proceed inwards.
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